College basketball rankings: Duke's talent in the spotlight as Blue Devils face Coastal Carolina

Florida sits atop the Associated Press Top 25, the Coaches poll and the updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily rankings released Thursday morning. Yet when it comes to the betting markets for the 2027 NCAA Tournament, the Gators are not the favorite. Duke is.

The case for the Blue Devils starts with sheer talent. In Adam Finkelstein's latest 2027 NBA Mock Draft, Patrick Ngongba II is projected to be selected ninth, Dame Sarr 13th and Cameron Williams 17th. Williams, notably, came off the bench in Monday's 84-50 season-opening victory over Army. That gives Duke three projected top-17 picks on a single roster.

The depth hardly stops there. John Blackwell, a 6-foot-5 guard, averaged 19.1 points per game last season for a Wisconsin team that secured a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Cayden Boozer, a five-star prep recruit, started 11 games last season for a Duke squad that finished 35-3. Caleb Foster, another former five-star, started 30 games for that same team.

Deron Rippey Jr. arrived ranked 12th in the Class of 2026, according to 247Sports. Then there is Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje, the 17-year-old phenom who produced 15 points, seven rebounds and three blocks in his first regular-season game in a Duke uniform.

Boumtje Boumtje is so young that he will not even be eligible for the 2027 NBA Draft. He is also so talented that he is already regarded as the favorite to be the first pick in the 2028 NBA Draft.

Add it all together and Duke appears loaded, which is why Thursday night's game against Coastal Carolina carries unusual intrigue for an early November matchup. The contest offers an up-close look at the national-title-favorite Blue Devils at the start of their campaign.

Speaking on Wednesday's episode of the Eye On College Basketball Podcast, the CBS Sports writer told Matt Norlander that Duke's meeting with Coastal Carolina is "the matchup I'm most looking forward to" on Thursday. Part of that, he acknowledged, is a largely quiet schedule, but the bigger draw is getting a second look at the sport's most-talented roster.